dscf3414

dscf2475

I noticed this stash of cupboard doors at my local salvage yard. The white one was the perfect size to make a serving tray. The old drawer pulls—also found at the salvage yard—made ideal handles. Their swirly shape gave me the inspiration for the pattern I painted. All it took was a little black paint. As with many of my projects, the possibilities are limitless: change the handles, add découpage or fabric, paint it a different color, or just leave it classic white.

Salvaged cupboard door = serving tray

supplies_for_tray

Supplies

  • cupboard door
  • black acrylic paint (I used Liquitex in Ivory Black)
  • black spray paint (I used Rust-Oleum semi gloss)
  • white house paint (I used leftover paint from my antique bookshelf makeover)
  • 4 machine screws
  • 2 drawer pulls (large enough to fit your hand)
  • 4 felt pads (I used 3/4-inch)
  • wood filler
  • sandpaper
  • newspaper

Tools

  • pencil and hi-polymer (white) eraser
  • drill and drill bit
  • screwdriver
  • small paintbrushes
  • ruler
  • painter’s palette or paper plate

spray_paint

1. Spray-paint your drawer pulls—top and bottom—if desired. Follow the directions on the can.

draw_pattern

2. Draw your pattern with pencil. (Many of you talented artists could probably skip this step, grab your paintbrush, and go for it. I’m not one of you, so I had to sketch it first.)

painting_process

3. Start painting over the lines. Work top to bottom, left to right (if you’re right-handed), so you don’t smear the paint. Apply thickly so you will only need one coat. (I used this same technique on this tabletop.) Let dry for several hours. Erase any stray pencil marks when dry.

fill_the_holes

4. Using wood filler, fill the holes where the hinges attached on the back. Let dry. Sand smooth with a piece of sandpaper. Wipe off the sanding dust.

touch_up

5. Touch up with a few coats of white paint.

felt_feet

6. Attach felt pads on the bottom at each corner.

measuremark

7. Measure, mark, and drill the holes for your handles. The left ones were pre-drilled on mine, so I matched the placement on the right.

finished_how-to

8. Screw on the handles. You’re done!

Related content